Well, here we are. This is the last share of the season. It’s been a wild ride for us, and we hope you all enjoyed it. Keep your eyes peeled in the coming weeks for a wrapup newsletter and survey — not to mention a wood-fired pizza party!

We’re hoping to put a roof over Kendra’s oven sometime this week or next, then we can insulate it and start making some bread. We’ve dug most of the crops from the fields, except for some leftover carrots and leeks. There are still some rinky-dink cabbages and Brussels Sprouts out there, too. After we finish up some of these harvest projects, all we have to do is move our hoophouse, plant some garlic and take down the deer fence before we can officially consider this growing season “over”

Thanks again to all of you for all of your support and encouragement this season, it’s been challenging and rewarding in some surprising ways, and we’re looking forward to trying it again next year (with a few key changes).

If you’re really gung ho to return your last wax box, you can drop it off at the Waterville Farmers Market on Thursdays; one of us will be there selling cookies for the rest of the season. Otherwise you can just throw them away or, better yet, use them as kindling. (That parafin coating lights right up!)

A note on storage: the radish, celeriac, parsnips and rutabega should keep pretty well if you put them in a plastic bag (or bags) in your fridge. Herbs can be hung to dry. Shallots like it cool and dry (our basement works well) and all squashes like it “warm” and dry (60 degrees or so; our living room is perfect).

Read on for share contents & veggie notes, and recipes for Celeriac and Apple Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette, Vegetable Pancakes and Potato, Celeriac and Leek Soup.

All shares contain:

• Hilds Blauer Radish
• Celeriac
• Sage
• Long Pie Pumpkin
• Parsnips

“Full” shares also contain:

• more celeriac and parsnips
• Shallots
• Rutabega

Veggie Notes

Shallots – Described as “onions with the butter built in”, shallots have a mild flavor that is perfect for eating raw in dips or salad dressings.

Rutabega – Sometimes called “Swedes” and often sold as “turnips”, these are — in fact — not turnips, though they resemble them in many ways. They’re generally peeled, cubed, boiled and mashed, with or without potatoes. I’m sure they’d also be fine roasted with other root veggies.

Long Pie Pumpkin – I wrote a bit about these delights last week. They’re generally dark green when they’re picked and then turn bright orange, indicating that they’re ready to use. These would make wonderful pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. They should easily keep that long: we keep all of our squashes in our living room and last year we still had some in April.

Recipe Ideas

We’ve been giving out a lot of celeriac recently — partly because we really love it and partly because we have a lot of it. I realize that it’s a bit unusual to most folks, so this week I’m sharing a number of recipes for celeriac. We haven’t actually tried all of them yet, but they all sound really great.

Vegetable Pancakes

We got this recipe back in 2004, before we were farmers, before we even lived in Maine. It was the second season that we were members of a CSA from a great farm just outside Boston. It’s a great way to use lots of different veggies (such as celeriac), and it’s dead easy, especially if you have a food processor. The original writer say it’s “a tasty and colorful twist on latkes”.

Potatoes
Onion
Other veggies: carrots, celeriac, parsnips, jerusalem artichokes, zucchini, peppers, rutabega, finely shredded greens
2-4 eggs, beaten (depending on how many veggies you’ve grated; remember: you can always add more)
a splash or two of tamari or soy sauce

1. Using a hand grater or food processor, grate potatoes (no need to peel) and onions. Squeeze handfuls of the grated potatoes into the sink to get out any excess water.

2. Add a mixture of other raw vegetables (see below). Make sure the final mixture contains at least 50% potato.

3. Mix in eggs and some fine bread crumbs (you can also add wheat germ) until the mixture is gummy and will hold together pretty well.

4. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Heat a shallow coating of oil in a fry pan and spoon on the pancakes, flattening them out. Turn when the first side has browned. Don’t use too high a heat or the exteriors will brown before the interior cooks. Drain on paper towels.

Potato, Celeriac and Leek Soup

A simple variation of regular potato leek soup, celeriac complements the other ingredients with that nice celery flavor

3 leeks
1 1/2 lbs whole celeriac
1 potato
3 tbsp butter
4-5 cups chicken or veggie broth, or just water
cream (optional)
salt & freshly ground pepper

Wash leeks and slice enough of the white and light green parts to
make 2 cups. Peel and chop celeriac into 1/2 inch cubes, enough to make
3-4 cups. Peel and coarsely chop potato. (Peeling is, of course, optional if you don’t mind some little pieces of dark skin in the soup.) Melt butter in soup pot, stir in leeks, and cook until soft. Add celeriac, potatoes and 4 cups of broth or water. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer until vegetabes are tender, 20-25 minutes. If using cream, add it now. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve as is for a chunky soup, or puree with a food mill, food processor or blender. If very thick, thin with broth or water.

We hope you enjoy the share!

As always, we welcome your feedback. Please let us know if you have any questions, concerns or problems.